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I remember reading an Animaniacs book over and over when I was a kid. They went to London and ended up melting and then restoring Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum. When they set out on their adventure, they said they wanted to have tea and crumpets (whatever they are) with the queen.
Does anyone else remember these guys?
For some reason I think of that book fairly often. This is most likely because I drink copious amounts of tea.
I actually have had a crumpet, but I’m still not quite sure what they are. My brother is friends with the only British country boy in West by God Virginia, and he gave my parents a package of crumpets which they saved for me. The crumpets were similar to English muffins though thicker and fluffier … I wonder if English muffins are called English muffins because of their similarity to crumpets … I mean, a crumpet is a muffin from England, right?… maybe … To Google! The difference seems to be in the dough and the baking, but they’re basically the same. Either way you split it, the crumpet wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m sorry for the puns … I really am. (I should go on the record here and say they spent a little time in the fridge so that may have had something to do with it.) The crumpets just seemed flavorless and soggy.
While we’re on the subject of childhood books and tea parties, I had a mini flashback this weekend. Two girls with whom I was friends as a child reconnected with me via Facebook, and we all went out to tea! We opted to dress up, and they joked that I would go all out (I have a flair for the dramatic at times.), so I did.
Fortunately, the timing for this was perfect as all of the thrift stores still had Easter things out. I went to Goodwill and grabbed a grey straw hat with pink trim and bow. I wish I had taken pictures of the hat before and during as it turned into a neat project.
The hat originally had wire under the edge ribbon so you could bend the brim. After washing the hat, I ripped the ribbon off as I was going to trim the hat in purple. Re-trimming the edge didn’t look polished enough for my taste so I opted instead for a clean edge. To achieve this I seam-ripped apart the outer ring of the hat making it a few rows smaller. (Straw hats function like a coil. They get larger each time they circle outward.)
Once the edge was trimmed, I had a clean slate with which to work. I found a small spool of tulle at Wal-Mart for about $1.50, and I bought 5 bunches of flowers from the Dollar Tree: pansies, daises, some draping purple flower that may not actually be real, and two different-sized roses and I went to town. Seriously, I use so much hot glue …
The newly trimmed hat turned out so posh. I wish I could wear hats in my day-to-day life. The problem with hats is that you have to take them off indoors, as no one knows hat etiquette in today’s world of wash-and-go hair and baseball caps, and hat hair is not attractive.
I love drinking tea, and we had so much fun! We think the last time all three of us were together was very nearly ten years ago. We sat, reminisced, drank several pots of tea, and munched on tiny finger sandwiches and scones. (I need to find a good scone recipe. If you have one, let me know!)
There is something enchanting about murmuring conversations while delicate music plays in the background with the soft clink of china that is simply magical. We sat at our table just chatting and lost track of time.
We had such a good time! I can’t wait until we get together again.
